Specific Binge foods

10alliemarie

I have a few trigger foods that I have severe difficulty rationing. Would it be better to give those items up or just work really really hard at trying to cure myself from the lack of will power around these foods? What has worked for you?

persistentsoul

At the moment I am trying a radical approach for me. I am mentally separating myself from the binge eating voice inside my head. I would like to have a healthy amount of good food and to also enjoy all the foods that I like in single human sized portions. The binge voice would like me to eat vast quantities of food. Sadly for the binge voice it is only a voice and has no way to make me eat except talk me in to it. Binge voice has no arms to feed itself , it is only a voice. I am the one with arms and hands and I choose what to put in my body. I choose to eat only enough to keep me well and healthy. I choose never to abuse myself with food. I choose to send binge voice to hell by not doing what it wants, I know if I do what binge voice wants that it will put me in hell. I have been in battle with binge voice for nearly 30 years. Today is day 3 since I sent binge voice to hell with its one way ticket. I can still hear it but it can not come out of hell unless I do what it wants. I know binge voice always lies and always hurts me, I know it has no power to make me binge except to talk to me. It can not control my hands. It can talk and cry and protest, whisper sweet nothings and make promises all it wants. I am choosing not to do what it tells me. It is abusive and without mercy. I have no place for it any longer in my life so it can just stay in hell. I am going to enjoy my food and not abuse myself with food. I can eat any food that I want. I want to eat food that nourishes my body and soul. I do not want to eat more than I need to be healthy. Only binge voice wants to binge. I do not want to binge so I am not going to because I know it can not make me. I see it for what it is, only a voice.

10alliemarie

I think the single portion idea is good.

10alliemarie

persistentsoul wrote: »

At the moment I am trying a radical approach for me. I am mentally separating myself from the binge eating voice inside my head. I would like to have a healthy amount of good food and to also enjoy all the foods that I like in single human sized portions.

I actually took a nutrition class that talked about how it is just a voice and that I have control over it. I know this but it is easier said than done. I just need to increase my strength.

totaldetermination

I buy single serving sizes, log them in advance and have some 'rules' about how I eat them.
The purpose of these rules is to help me develop control.
I only eat them at home, and only at the end of the day. (this avoids eating them the moment I leave the store, whilst I am in the car or the moment I get home).
I eat them slowly and with focus - not in front of the computer, for example. I find eating slowly hard to do. The binge side of me wants to eat them very quickly but I take control and eat them slowly. If I don't then I find that I have eaten them without even realising it, and then its finished, and I didn't even enjoy it.
When I am feeling particularly in control then I will buy some and not eat them until the following day. Or have half now and half a little while later. I find that challenging, but I am very slowly getting better.

WillLift4Tats

I found a few things that help me, and every time is different. You need to listen and get to know your body and what works for you.

At first, I had to not keep things in the house. Then, when I built up my confidence with my eating habits, I started to buy them again. I weigh out one portion and that's what I get.

I also am learning that for the most part, I need to keep these items for my last snack of the day. If I have them too early in the day, something triggers in me (still need to work on that) that for some reason leads me to want to blow the rest of the day off.

10alliemarie

WillLift4Tats wrote: »

I found a few things that help me, and every time is different. You need to listen and get to know your body and what works for you.

At first, I had to not keep things in the house. Then, when I built up my confidence with my eating habits, I started to buy them again. I weigh out one portion and that's what I get.

I also am learning that for the most part, I need to keep these items for my last snack of the day. If I have them too early in the day, something triggers in me (still need to work on that) that for some reason leads me to want to blow the rest of the day off.

I experience the wanting to blow the rest of the day off.

superj016

Long term, I think it depends on what you're willing to do. I know some people who choose to give up their trigger foods for good because the temptation is not worth it to them. While I respect that, personally, I want to learn to have the foods I enjoy AND be able to control myself around them. That is truly success to me. Otherwise, how does indefinite avoidance really correct the root cause of the problem? So, for the time being, I choose to abstain from the food that sets me off while I work on what draws me to eat it. I keep nothing in the house that I feel unsafe with and if the urge is so strong I can't find the strength to avoid it, I will let myself indulge in a single serving OUT, meaning, I'll get one serving from a restaurant versus, going to a store, stocking up and hoarding the food at home. I've also been told to try posting words of encouragement/calling out the binge in visible places. So, putting notes on my fridge, for instance, that attempt to change my mindset when I sense myself becoming weak. Perhaps some of these strategies will work for you. It is not an easy thing to overcome. Don't expect to "cure" yourself overnight. It's a disease that needs to be treated, not a case of will power...at least...beyond having the will to get better.